Sand pipe dispensing nozzle



Aug. 12, 1952 J -rug 2,606,781-

SAND PIPE DISPENSING NOZZLE Filed May 31, 1949 Inventor Tobias J. Lofrus Patented Aug. 12, 1952 sAiv PIPE msrENsI NqNozzLE v 1 S. .Dak.-

ApplicationMay s1,194as iar v ;9617s :The present: invention relates. to certain new and useful improvements in locomotive: track sandersandhas to do;;broadlyspeaking-with an.

aptly and suitably-constructed dispensing nozzle which. is expressly made and designed for ate tachment to the discharge'end of: the usual sand pipe, said nozzle serving to render saidzsandpipe effectively operable whena charge of sand ismost' needed.

It isamatter supply of sand totrack rails is greatly impeded and in many instances entirely out off in cold and stormy weather. This is' due to thefact that.

the sand becomes wet andfreezesand clogsin the .sand pipe and is, therefor-e,.not deposited on the track rail when its use against-slippingis critically needed. Confrontedwith this problem, and in an. effort to resultfully solve it, lihave evolved and produced a simple, practical and ever-ready safety nozzlerwhich is attachablevto the sand pipe and which functions todeliver sandwith assured certainty regardless. of'weather conditions.

In carrying out my aims I achieve what is that it embodies a novel valve arrangement and invokes the use of an air pressure actuated piston and cylinder assembly to properly control the valve;

.Morespecifically, the statedattachment is in the formof a valveddispensing' nozzle wherein the .air ipressure functions-not-only to positively control .the valve but, inaddition, provides an air blast communicating with the sand in a manner to prevent clogging even though the sand is either wet or frozen as the case may be. Another obj ect'of theinvention has todo with the provision of a visor-like valve shield which assists in guiding the opening and closing movements of the valve but functions, primarily, to minimize the likelihood that the valve will :be-

. come icebound and locked on its seat.

Other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevational View showing a track rail, portion of a locomotive wheel, the sand pipe, and my improved dispensing nozzle attached to the sand pipe.

of common knowledge that the;

i ans, 1 (01. 2919-41) parts 'in:section'and-elevation, the valve. being shown closed.

Figure 3 isa the aforementioned shield, said viewv being taken in the'dire'ction of the arrow-3 on Figu'2.

' Figure- 4c is a fragmentary elevational view:

showing the sand box and other facilities. 1

Referring'first tofFigure 4, the numeral 1 designates a po-rtion-of a; locomotiveor'engineins cludingr'a drivewheel -8' resting upon a track rail 91- The numeral Ifl designates a source 'of'sand supply, usually referred to as a sandbox which, byway of af'suitable valve control" (not shown) delivers sand into a perpendicular sand pipe I|L Many and varied" forms ofdis'pensin'g heads, so-

called spreading sho'es 'and the like are custom-v, arily utilized on'the discharge end of the sandv pipe. When the sandals dry and weather condi-' tions are-satisfactory; the wanted sand is delivered' -with expected-efficiency; However, when the weather is stormy and""col d, or during the course of-a snowstorm; sand dispensing difficul ties are met. 'As previously stated the sand may becomewet and freeze and thus clog the dispensing-ordis'charge facilities of a sandpipe. Or; snow and ice may lodge in and around the dis charge end-of the sand pipe, making it impossible to lay sand on a slippery track at a time when it is most-needed To cope with this problem I provide a simple',*practical, reliable and satisfactory sand dispensing nozzle with requisite safety featuresl The nozzle is'preferably Y-shaped and is denoted (see Fig; 2) 'by-the numeral I2. The main branch [3 has a screw-threaded collar" M detachably, screwed on the threads I 5' o-f-the sand pipe H. The lower-discharge end has its bottom fashionedintoflan oblique chute or apron l6 an accompanying bevelled valve seat l 'I- for the correspondingbevelled peripheral edge c-fjthe valve disk I8.

The numeral l9 designates the aforementioned visor-like substantially semi-circular guard or shield which projects beyond the valve and hoods over the upper half portion of same to provide an effective shield. In fact, the shield minimizes the likelihood that the valve will become icebound and locked on its seat. In addition the underside IQ of the shield constitutes a stabilizing guide for the valve when it projects to open position. The side branch 2| of the nozzle has a central longitudinal bore \22 which opens into the passage of the main branch 13. The bore is lined with a bushing 23 in which the valve rod 24 is reciprocable. The lower end of the valve Fi ur 2 is a V w of y p v n zzle with 55 red is screw-threaded and provided with a nut fragmentary. elevational view: or

- Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A nozzle attachment for the discharge end of a sand pipe comprising a substantially Y- shaped body having a main sand receiving and delivering branch for attachment to said sand ery pipe or line 35. The numeral 36 designates a passage or port which serves to deliver air and also functions as a vent. The numeral 3! desigmates 2. piston check shoulder. The piston return spring, which comes into play when the air pressure is off, is denoted by the numeral 38 and surrounds the valve rod and is anchoredina suitable socket in the branch 2|.

constitutes an air delivery and vent passage.

In practice the air pipe or line 35 is connected to a suitable source of air supply in the engine cab and an appropriate cut-oil valve 40 is, .of course, provided. Normally, and assuming that the airsupply is off, the springm'eans 38 acts on the valve rod: 24 to :close the valve I 8 against its seat .I'IL. ;When sand is to be fed from the .box 10 via the sand pipe H onto the track}, it is, of course, necessary to open the valve [8. Consequently, the air is turned "on and, flowing under pressure through the pipe or line 35actson the'piston means against the tension of the spring means. The piston in turn acts onthe valve rod 24; and opens thevalve 18in an obvious manner. When the air isturned off the valvestarts to return-toits closed position and passages 39 and 36 respectively-injigure' 2 constitutes vents to facilitate the valve closin action. These same passages 36 and 39 in the order stated serve to supply a blast of air-into the sand passage of the The numeral 39 designates a bore through the branch 2 I, which pipe and a complementalpressured air receiving and ."delivering branch, corresponding ends of said branches converging into a common sand outlet. said outlet having a stationary valve seat open- .m directly into the atmo the remaining end of said air branch having an enlarged cylindrical cup, the latter in axial alignment with said 'airbrancha screw-cap closing and removably mounted on the'cup, said cap having a screwthreaded neck for a pressured air delivery pipe,

" a piston slidable in said cup, said piston in line withsaid neck and having an air port therein, a rod connected to said piston, a disk valve normally engaged with said valve seat, said rod being connected with and foro-perating said valve, a

I coiled return spring surrounding the rod, engaging the piston at one end and engaging a station-- ary part of the air branch at its opposite end, said air branch having an elongated bore parallel with said rod and opening at one end into said cup in alignment with said air port and havoutlet when the valve is open,

branch 13 to agitate the sand, to prevent clogging,- and to facilitateits delivery to the trackway. The oblique angular relationship of the chute l6 and shield I9 serve, it is believed, to more effectively deposit the discharging sand on the track. ,7

When my device is used on locomotives equipped with air sanding devices (not shown) from sand box l0 to sand pipe H air pipe 35 would be connected to air pipe from cab of the locomotives (not shown) leading to sand valve control, thus applyin air' to the device simultaneously with application of air to sandin device.

Changes in shape, size, materials and rearrangement of details and. parts may be resorted to in actual practice, so long as they do not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope'of the appended claims, as is well understood.

2. The structure defined in claim 1, and a semicircular visor-like extension formed integral with said sand delivering branch and projecting out- Wardly beyond and hooding over the upper portion of said 'valve seat, the upper half-portion of said valve conforming in shape with and havin wiping contact with the underneath surface of said extension, whereby to keep said seat free of ice and snow accumulations.

TOBIAS J. LOFTUS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the .fiie of this patent:

v UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Great Britai Nov. 29, 1893 

